Coaching

Want to be inspirational? Don't wait for a big "rah-rah" moment. Build it into your every day. Here are 5 ways to get your people inspired.
1) High Aspirations
Always push for excellence, and remind people what they can achieve together. Just check your ego, and balance ambition with reality. Nothing is more demotivating than repeatedly missing unrealistic goals.
2) Challenge Your People
Don’t underestimate what people are capable of. Find the best in them, and don't be afraid to push for it. Help get rid of barriers and take low-value work off their
plates so they succeed. Be a proactive coach.
3) … [Read more...]

Strengths-based leadership development can hurt organizations. A few years ago, a client devoted to strengths-based development discovered that our coaching program centered on tackling weaknesses head on. We were dismissed—despite the outstanding results we had a part in helping them generate across their most profitable market. In the years since, the company continued to emphasize strengths-based development. Yet the CEO has complained that the leaders in the company have lost their edge. Market share continues to fall year after year.
This is just one example of the consequences a strengths-based bias can have … [Read more...]

If you’re one of the tens of millions of movie-lovers who watched the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, you heard plenty about the nominated films of the year. (And you also witnessed a huge moment in live television when La La Land was mistakenly announced as Best Picture!)
But the Oscars are about more than the best films of the year. They are also about perception and illusion and façade. Stars prep for hours for that one moment when they pose for the paparazzi on the red carpet. By the time they step out of the limo, the actors and actresses have been made up, dressed, polished, tweezed and coached. “Who are … [Read more...]

Turmoil. Dissatisfaction. Demand for change. Times like these often elevate new leaders, and President-elect Trump is the very latest.
Having worked closely with leaders who succeeded in new roles—and a few who didn’t— I’ve been thinking about how I would coach the incoming President at this extraordinary time.
Here are three things I would say to President-elect Trump if I was his leadership coach today.
Think before you speak.
Every word counts. When you have authority all eyes and ears are on you. Your words are scrutinized by your fans and your foes and will be amplified around the world. As … [Read more...]

Recently, I was observing a coaching workshop. My colleague was doing a great job helping managers to recognize bad habits and change their behavior. At one point, a participant said, “this is great and actually really helpful, but I can’t help noticing it’s the exact opposite of most of the coaching training we’ve had in the past”. My colleague said, “yes, this is a big part of the problem and its time the training industry makes a real change. I hope this helps”.
We have heard this hundreds of times. Here are some habits we help leaders change…
Here Are 5 Things Most Managers Do Very Well. And Must … [Read more...]

Over the past 20 years we’ve worked with thousands of managers to raise the performance of their people. A big piece of that work is examining the difference between what people say they believe about performance management and what they actually do
The good news is that the vast majority of these managers are coming from a good place. They are committed to the success of their teams and to helping employees reach their potential. When we ask them to describe how leaders should address performance issues, they say things like:
Be open and honest with people
Listen and display empathy
Build an action … [Read more...]

It’s no secret that companies struggle to get performance management right. High profile organizations, like GE, Microsoft, and Deloitte, have announced sweeping changes to their performance management practices. And for every company in the headlines, there are dozens more planning to go rating less, get off the annual cycle, crowdsource feedback, or try something/anything to make it better.
Unfortunately, the historical track record on performance management process changes isn’t great. Remember when everyone was going to forced ranking? Or that time you went from a three-point scale to a five? Or from paper to … [Read more...]